


A Little Prince

by kimkeybumie



Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Books, Drabble, Le Petit Prince (novel), M/M, Radio, The Little Prince (novel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 00:11:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15182438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimkeybumie/pseuds/kimkeybumie
Summary: A drabble inspired by Jonghyun's interest for “Le Petit Prince", featuring Jinki as a bookworm and librarian who has a crush on him.





	A Little Prince

The place is silent, as usual. Only the sound of pages being turned and pens writing on a paper can be heard, and it’s like honey to Jinki’s ears. He loves it. Working at the library was supposed to be a seasonal job, yet he enjoyed it enough to apply for a part-time post. Thanks to an employee’s retirement, he’s been taken on and is here for a year now.

 

He has never been a man who aspires to live a turbulent life, he has appreciated silence and calm for as long as he can remember. His parents have felt worried since their only child was more into staying alone with his own thoughts than joining his classmates during school breaks. But they have never thought about going against the young boy’s nature, they had rather helped him with his so special behaviour.

 

Thus, Jinki has been introduced to books early in his life, being able to perfectly read at the age of five. If teachers have first been reluctant to the idea of letting a pupil reading in the classroom when all his classmates were having fun in the schoolyard, they have ended up accepting since the young boy’s unease with other children was noticeable. It had been for his own stability as a child who needed calm and bearings to feel at ease.

 

Starting then, his parents have made use of their economies for their son to buy him books for his birthdays and other celebrations. As butchers, the aforesaid economies weren’t considerable but they have always wanted to please their so quiet son to grow up in all these imaginary worlds. They have only made sure that Jinki didn’t travel too much to forget about the reality he lived in.

 

Birthdays and birthdays have been celebrated, with more and more books, more and more topics and themes… until Jinki has reached a peak in his reading, choosing to pursue literature studies. Throughout the years, he has found interest in new kinds of literature, his mind has travelled in so many places, so many periods, it has accompanied so many heroes and antiheroes each more interesting than the one before, that when he has celebrated his eighteenth birthday, Jinki has decided to make the most of his leisure activity, by studying it at university.

 

But it’s expensive to do studies, and his parents have told him they weren’t sure they could pay for this special university their son wanted to go to… thus, the all grown up Jinki has decided to work to be able to fulfill his dream to study that wonderful world that literature was to him. That’s how he has ended up in this library, at the heart of the capital, working during the entire summer to earn enough money to pay his first year of studies. 

 

And that’s also how he has decided to stay, to handle both his studies and this part-time job to never bother his parents with the needed money. He has, thanks to his love for books, found a way to live an almost independent life at the young age of nineteen.

 

But what keeps him in this library that day isn’t only his little pleasure for the atmosphere drawn by the huge shelving units filled with thousands of books. It’s almost nine in the evening, the library closes at ten since it’s the most frequented by students, and Jinki’s service is supposed to have ended for more than an hour. Yet, like every Thursday and this for several months now, he secretly exchanges the first two hours of his duty with the last two hours of one of his colleague’s. 

 

Thanks to this trick, he can observe _him_ at his leisure, until _he_ stands up a few minutes before the closing time. 

 

_Him_. The man, certainly the same age as Jinki, who comes every Thursday at the library, sits at the same desk. He always does the same things, things that the young librarian scrutinizes each week as if it’s another first time.

 

When he enters the adult area of the library, he smiles and quietly nods towards Jinki to salute him, which the latter returns as quietly. Then, after he replaces his platinum blonde bangs like a mannerism, he walks to this table that’s always free, next to the window that has a view on a small and empty courtyard, with the preserved ruins of a ancient well taking centre stage in the middle of weeds.

 

No one ever sits at this desk on Thursdays, except him, and that sounds like a mystery to Jinki’s mind. 

 

He puts his bag on the table, opens it and withdraws a book from it : the book he borrowed the week before. He always borrows a book when he comes there, and takes it back when he comes again. With the object in his hands, his eyes staring at the back cover one last time, he walks to the librarian’s desk and finally looks up, smiling once again and handing him the book with both hands.

 

Everything remains quiet between them as Jinki returns the smile and takes what belongs to the library, nodding to thank him before the blonde man turns over and wanders between the shelving units, looking for another treasure. In the same time, the librarian updates the borrowings and returns register, and once again his eyes stare for a moment at the name on the computer screen, the name of the man who just returned a poem by Poe, “The Raven”.

 

_Kim Jonghyun_.

 

That’s all he knows about this handsome man he sees every Thursday, this man who’s at the root of the trick of Jinki’s duty hours. His name, his appearance… and the literary person he is. Every week, Kim Jonghyun spends around ten minutes, looking for a book that mostly ends up being poetry or philosophical novels, by authors from all over the world. He then spends the rest of the opening hours reading his treasure and taking a lot of notes. 

 

And when it’s once again time for the place to close, he stands up, tidies up his things and comes to Jinki a second time to borrow his find. Again, quiet smiles and nods are exchanged, while the librarian scans the bar code of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. He’s about, as usual, to personally put the borrowed book in his customer’s bag, something he does with everyone but that seems special with Kim Jonghyun.

 

But this time, Jinki wants to do more than just his job. His shyness has never allowed him to address to this young man who seems to share his long lasting passion, but he’s as smart as he’s quiet. Thus, this time he doesn't put one, but two books in the other man’s bag, without him noticing it of course. Jonghyun thanks him with one of these famous smiles of his before he politely bows and leaves the library.

 

Jinki looks at him leaving and hides a smile. He's feeling like the hero of one of these romances an elderly woman often borrows, him who’s not even used to read them. Does it make a cheesy person of him ? Will Jonghyun come back as soon as he finds the second book and scold him ? Will he even read it ?

 

The librarian starts sweating as countless worries assault his mind, but he quickly chases them away to clean his area before going back to his parents’ house. There, he eats with his mother who always waits for his return when his tired father goes to bed early, and for the first time in his life, Jinki talks to her about what he has just done. Mrs Lee carefully listens to her son, who suddenly shares his doubts and the way he feels like a weird psychopath… and the only thing she does is kissing his forehead and telling him he did well.

 

It’s with a certain relief that Jinki goes to bed, and his last thought before falling asleep is for the mysterious man at the library, the man who comes every Thursday and who the librarian has a crush on.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Jinki ends his classes at noon and heads straight to the library to start his duty. As soon as he arrives, he walks behind his desk and catches the trolley with dozens of returned books from the morning. His routine begins as he walks between the shelving units, his finger grazing the shelves’ rim to find the right spot according to the author’s name’s initial letter.

 

What he hasn’t expected was someone handing him something as he approached the W spot. He looks down to check what he’s being given and is surprised to find a book he has seen not even twenty-four hours before, a book the library only has in one copy. “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, by Oscar Wilde.

 

Jinki’s heart misses a beat and he looks up, missing a second beat as his eyes meet Kim Jonghyun’s face. He stays frozen, staring at him in disbelief as the other man just smiles.

 

 

“Hi.” He says, and it’s the first time the librarian hears his voice, deep yet extremely soft, making a shiver run down his spine. “I’m sorry to disturb you, I just… well, I wanted to return this book but you weren’t at the dest so…”

 

“R-Return the b-book ?” Jinki can’t help but stutter as his trembling hands take the object Jonghyun is handing him. “But you borrowed it yesterday, you don’t need it anymore…?”

 

“No, I found something better.”

 

 

Saying these words, Jonghyun catches a second book, smaller and thiner, from under his armpit. He shows it to the young man, whose cheeks become as red as cherries when he reads the title. “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

 

The book he has hidden in his bag the day before.

 

 

“Thank you for giving it to me.” Jonghyun resumes. “I read it last night, it was really quick to finish and… really interesting.”

 

“Oh… I’m… glad you liked it.” Jinki answers, lowering his eyes and pretending to find interest in a speck of dust on a lower shelf.

 

“That’s why I return the other one. You know… well, no, you don’t know. Ah, that’s embarrassing… I don’t want to bother you with my life but I’m the host of a radio show, I don’t know if you know it, it’s really late at night on Saturdays and I talk about books. A book per show, a book per week.”

 

“O-Oh… you mean you’re JjongD…?”

 

“You know me ?”

 

“I’m a huge fan of your show ! I listen to it every week, if I knew it was you…”

 

“You would have given me this book earlier ? I plan to talk about it this Saturday, I really have a lot to say about it, I hope I won’t exceed my hours. So I will keep Dorian Gray for next week and… well, hum… I wanted to ask you about… ah, nevermind, it’s stupid.”

 

“Stupid ? Of course not, please go ahead. I’m just… just the librarian ?”

 

“Actually… you can be more than _just the librarian_. What do you think about… coming with me to the studio, on Saturday ? Since it’s you who made me discover this book, it would be an honor to have you with me for this show.”

 

 

Jinki widens his eyes at the offer. Him ? Talk to hundreds of people, right in front of the man he has a crush on for months ? Him, the shy librarian who stutters each time he’s being talked to ? No way, it's way beyond his abilities, impossible.

 

 

“A-Alright.” He finds himself saying, raising his eyebrows and hiding his mouth behind his palm, what makes Jonghyun laugh. “I-I mean, n-no, it’s… it’s a bit, hum… talking isn’t something I…”

 

“Me neither.” The radio host smiles. “I usually hate talking to people but… well, unless it’s about books. This show is a blessing, you know ? You just talk, there is no one looking at you, you even forget there are listeners. You’re just here, being yourself and talking about something you like. So… are you in ?”

 

“I-I have to think about it…”

 

 

Jinki lowers his eyes again and rubs the back of his head. He feels embarrassed as hell, he can feel himself sweating and his hands trembling, but he also finds himself really wanting to go on the show. This show he listens to every Saturday, late at night, he even takes notes sometimes when Jonghyun talks about a book he doesn’t know. And he ends up reading the book when he has nothing to do at the library.

 

He stays quiet for a few seconds, until the other young man hands him something.

 

 

“Here.” He says, and Jinki raises an eyebrow when he sees a phone. “Even if you don’t want to come to the show, maybe we can see each other again, I mean, outside the library…? So… hum… can I get your number ?”

 

 

The librarian stands gaping for a moment, staring at Jonghyun, then at the phone, and at Jonghyun again. The other man laughs behind his hand, and the sound makes Jinki smile. He suddenly gathers his courage and takes the device, typing his number on the keypad and handing it back to Jonghyun.

 

 

“Nice, I’ll text you later.” The latter says. “What’s your name, by the way ?”

 

“J-J…” The librarian clears his throat. “Jinki. Lee Jinki.”

 

“Oh, that’s pretty… So, Jinki-ssi. See you later ?”

 

 

Jonghyun winks at him and waves his hand as he turns over, leaving the library. Jinki looks at him going away and realizes the other man has come only to return a book… and to see him, to ask him to come on his so amazing show… and to ask for his number just to see him again. 

 

Suddenly, Jinki feels something in his stomach, and he puts his hand on it. Is it hunger ? No, it can’t be, he has just eaten before coming to work. So… is it… these stupid butterflies people talk about in romances ?

 

As an answer, his phone vibrates in his pocket, making him jump with surprise. He makes sure not to be seen and takes his device to switch it on : he got a text from an unknown number, just saying “do you like sushis ? what about we eat some tonight when you’re free ? I’m already hungry. Jonghyun.”

 

Reading this, Jinki finds himself smiling widely, and a high pitched tone escapes his lips as he makes a little jump… his left foot hitting the shelf hard and making him fall, drawing the trolley with him with an deafening racket.

 

It hurts.

 

But Jinki can’t stop smiling.

 

 

End

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, comments are welcome ~


End file.
